Canadians Sim 59th & Richardson 73rd
by Curtis Niedermier
FLW PRESS RELEASE
 |
John Cox a sight fishing master shows how it is done!
(Photo: FLW) |
Day one of the FLW Tour event presented by
Ranger Boats on Lake Toho looked like a slugfest if there ever was one, and it
kind of was, but kind of wasn’t. John Cox leads with 31 pounds, 9 ounces. John
Voyles and Scott Martin each weighed in 24-plus, and everyone in the top nine
weighed at least 21 pounds.
The weights are impressive, but no one really
hammered giants all day long, and there just weren’t as many big girls spawning
as most pros anticipated in the middle of an extended warming trend. So while
it looks like it was a heck of a day, a lot of pros are wondering why it wasn’t
just a little bit better. They’re also wondering what to do tomorrow. At least
a handful of the 20-plus-pound performers are considering changing lakes on day
two – evidence of their uncertainty, but also a testament to the overall
quality of the lakes on this chain.
Cox, who had an early boat draw, was able to
run straight to some bedding fish he had marked from practice and enjoyed a
record-setting day that included the biggest limit ever weighed in an FLW Tour
event here on Toho.
“It was an awesome day,” he says. “We finally
got some good weather. It was awesome.”
The sight-fishing expert caught an
8-pound-class fish early in the morning and then chipped away here and there
with smaller fish. Yet by midmorning, he was feeling a little befuddled.
“I didn’t see anything new moving up,” he
says. “I was kind of disappointed. All day I didn’t see any new ones, and I
caught my big one a little deeper.”
That “big one” was a 10-pound, 9-ounce bass
that is the third largest ever weighed in a Tour event here on Toho. He caught
that fish by winding a Berkley PowerBait
Wind Up worm with a light tungsten weight.
Eventually, Cox improved with a couple more
culls, including another fish on the Wind Up to go with three in his final
limit that were caught sight-fishing. He fished about 30 spots and had to deal
with a lot of pressure from other anglers who also sniffed out the best
sight-fishing waters.
Cox plans to start the day Friday checking
some clear bedding areas, but then he’s willing go wherever he needs to go to
find a few more big bites and try to extend his 6-pound, 10-ounce lead. Because
despite putting up the best performance in Tour history on this fishery, Cox is
going to need to continue to parade in with giants if he wants to stay on top
here in Florida.
2. John Voyles –
Petersburg, Ind. – 24-15 (5)
Indiana pro John Voyles says his history here
in Florida is nothing to brag about. That changes after today. Voyles can do a
lot of boasting about the 24-pound, 15-ounce limit he sacked up down in
Kissimmee.
Voyles got his morning started off with a nice
break. As boat 65, he figured he’d not be able to get into the lock out of Toho
without a long wait. It was a nice surprise when he arrived to see only 10
boats waiting (the lock holds about 15). He got right in, right out and raced
on to the big lower lake.
“I caught four pretty quickly in the first
hour,” he says. “Then it died.”
Voyles tried to relocate some shallow fish,
but figures they were either caught already or had backed out, because they
were gone. A deeper stretch really saved his day. Voyles caught the four little
ones there early, then came back later and went to work. He caught several nice
keepers and culled four or five times before catching an 8-5 off a waypoint
where he also shook off a real big one in practice. He came back to the spot
again later and caught another fish in the 8-pound-class.
Voyles is chucking reaction baits. His
strategy is not really based on a pattern, but hinges on a key area that he’s
sharing with a handful of other boats.
3. Scott Martin –
Clewiston, Fla. – 24-12 (5)
Scott Martin almost always has the biggest fan
base at FLW Tour events. Today, he gave his fans a real show at weigh-in. The
Florida native weighed in a whopping 24-pound, 12-ounce limit that included two
fish in the 8- to 9-pound range.
Martin’s day started off with a lot of fish,
but not a lot of size. He had a limit early for about 7 pounds. Then his day
really picked up thanks to smart timing.
“I had one big one I had waited to go to until
about 9 because she was a little deeper,” he says. “I ran there and caught
her.”
Having a kicker in the box really let Martin
settle down, he says. He worked into a good area and eventually hooked up with
his other big one.
Martin says he’s pitching for most of his
fish. He’s happy with what he had today but thinks this tournament is still
wide open because the fish aren’t doing exactly what most pros expected.
“I felt like they were leaving,” he says of
the bass in his area. “I still kind of feel like they aren’t progressing like
they should be.”
Top 10 pros
